Nostalgia
by Draggy2
Summary: Momentary confusion doesn't last, everything in Ryou's head rearranges to make sense: everything but Bakura's existence. RyouBakura oneshot


Nostalgia

_07/06_

Ryou awoke to consciousness slowly, he was clinging to a dream but even in his state of semi-consciousness it was fading too fast. There was a face, gone now, and a body a boy, it too was indistinguishable. Something about being warm but maybe that was because of the blankets, or was it… but the dream had disappeared so Ryou opened his eyes, slowly. The sun was just starting to filter through his bedroom window to land at the edge of Ryou's bed. That was odd, wasn't it? Wasn't his bed supposed to be… oh no, that's right he had re-arranged it months ago? Ryou tried to shake away the fog of sleep and was somewhat successful.

He rubbed his eyes and pushed the covers from his body, only the blankets didn't push, well, on one side they did, the other edges were folded under the mattress. How very odd, Ryou thought, because he never bothered doing that before. Was his father home? Was Ryou just out of it? Fiddling with his white hair Ryou got dressed then his tummy did a little grumble so he ignored the oddities and went downstairs. Things re-arranged themselves faster now. There was the slightest feeling of de-ja-vu as Ryou looked at how something was placed, or looked at a new spatula, but the feeling faded so quickly and his remembrance of the object resurfaced so fast that Ryou barely noticed it.

He made toast with jam and chewed on it alone in the kitchen, as he was want to do with his dad on another dig; there really was no one else here. It was Saturday, so really Ryou could do anything he wanted but there wasn't anything in particular so he made his way back up the stairs. There was water running, why was water running? And why was the bathroom light on? Feeling ill at ease Ryou moved slowly trying to create as little sound as possible. The water stopped, Ryou's heart stopped. There was somebody in the shower! Nobody was supposed to be in the house!

Ryou grabbed the vase from the hall table and inched even closer to the door. He waited. It didn't take long for the handle to turn; Ryou raised his one-hit weapon and out stepped… out stepped… Ryou dropped the vase in shock. Was that himself? No, there were no trick mirrors and Ryou had no brothers. _I've been cloned!_ It was horrifying.

The other him jumped at the sound of the vase crashing and gave Ryou an odd look. "I know I'm smashing but you didn't have to _prove_ it." And then he gave Ryou a small smile that made something in Ryou go _thump._ Definitely not a clone, but then what? Ryou could feel his face flush, as he looked the stranger up and down- sogging wet in a towel.

Long white hair settled on and over his shoulder, _almost like how I look when I'm wet… yet not._ The face wasn't quite the same, his eyes were more serious, had seen more of the world then Ryou had; he could tell even as that small smile faded and a larger one took its place. The look alike was taller too, though not by much and held himself up with a natural grace, totally at ease in his body. Totally at ease in nothing but a towel and someone gawking at him. "You're still so bashful Ryou, it's so endearing." And the stranger reached out a hand that caressed Ryou's face and fell to curl around in his hair. Ryou's eyes went wide and he jerked back.

Confusion flashed across the strangers face before he stepped closer, as if to burry Ryou in some sort of embrace, some sort of wet, naked embrace. Ryou stepped back again. "What is it?" the guy said. "Oh! Right, I'll go get dry and put some clothes on." He turned smiling and walked to a door that Ryou could have sworn was never a part of the house before. His legs gave out and Ryou fell to the floor. _What was- who was- the hell was that!_

But whoever it was would be back any moment now. 'Get changed', he said, like that would make all the difference! Bashful indeed, who did he think he was, barging in on somebody's house and, and, wait… he knew Ryou's name? It made no sense! No sense at all! That's it; this was officially some weird science experiment conducted by- by the government! Or maybe aliens, or… now he wasn't making sense. Yugi! Maybe Yugi would know what was going on. Oh god, what if Ryou was hallucinating! Ugh, why was nothing boding well?

Ryou raced downstairs. The downstairs phone would definitely be best; he wouldn't be trapped upstairs. Dial, dial, calm, calm, ring, ring, answer. "Hello, Yugi?"

"No, this is Yami."

"Sorry, wrong number." Ryou hung up and dialled again.

Dial, ring, answer. "Hello, is Yugi there?"

"Ryou? I thought that was you."

"Uh, who is this?"

"…It's Yami." Ryou was momentarily speechless so Yami continued. "Ryou is something wrong?"

"How do… who are… why do you know my name?" _And why couldn't Ryou manage to form complete sentences today._

"Is Bakura putting you up to this?" _Bakura… who was Bakura? Who was Yami? Twilight zone, that's what it was. Some weird other dimension. _Ryou slammed the phone down. Third time's the charm, right?

Dial, ring, answer- "Ryou, I swear, you do that one more time and-"

"Who _are_ you!"

"Did you bonk your head? I'm Yugi's yami. You know- 'Spirit of Darkness,' 'Darker half.' Where's Bakura?" _He's Yugi's _what_? yami…and was called 'Yami' that seemed kinda unimaginative on Yugi's part. Wait, who is this Bakura? Was Ryou the one in the wrong dimension, no, no, everybody seemed to know Ryou _he_ just didn't know anybody._

"Bakura… who?" Ryou was so lost. "Where's Yugi…?" Ryou could hear the desperate plea in his own voice, now he was even more confused then before and apparently was freaking out.

"Yugi!" he heard Yami shout away from the phone, "Come here, something's wrong with Ryou!" Ryou waited. _Yugi… Yugi… the sane one._

Ryou carefully watched the stairs the whole time, trying his darndest to stay rational and calm. But just as Yugi came on the other end, feet started to descend the stairs. _Oh, no. _Ryou dropped the phone; the voice saying his name repeatedly received no answer for Ryou was already out the front door, leaving a bewildered stranger and a dangling phone in his wake.

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Ryou first had no potential destination in mind, after all, where would you go when your home's invaded by a stranger who looks like you but isn't you and knows your name and is rather _comfortable_ in your house, in _your_ bathroom, naked and wet. You just can't explain that to people and get them to agree to your sanity. And when did Yugi get a roommate? A very deranged roommate who thought he was… something dark? Ryou took a deep breath. Remember to breath. Breathing was important.

Okay, to Yugi's house, maybe get him to come outside where it was safe. Damn, Ryou was freaking out. You know how you know your freaking out- when you get paranoid. And Ryou was definitely paranoid. He circled the block, trying to clear his head and make sense of what he was going to explain to Yugi, maybe make it sound sane enough that his friend believed him.

It only took one knock before Yugi bounded from his house, pulled Ryou to the side of the porch and sat him down. "Yami says your acting weird, what's wrong?" Well, so much for tact. Ugh, that Yami fellow again. Safe topic first then.

"When did you get a roommate?" It was a simple question but Yugi just tilted his head and looked up all worried-like at Ryou. "I'm just curious."

"The same time-ish that you got yours?" Said Yugi as if it wasn't a question but a fact, _but_ a question. Yugi's eyes drifted off in speculation then pinned Ryou with a stare. "Ryou, what are Yami and Bakura?" He said as if it was obvious.

But it was a question that didn't make sense at all. "People?" Said Ryou hesitantly. "Whose Bakura?" Yugi's yes widened so fast that Ryou didn't see the transition.

Yugi jumped up and ran inside, a faint, "Yamii, get out here," was quickly followed by two Yugi's coming back from the door. No, one Yugi. There was only one Yugi, the other was, well, like that boy from Ryou's house. A great match to Yugi but polar opposite personalities. Taller with more serious eyes, as if he too had seen far more of the world. _Am I in some sort of weird future where there's two of everybody?_

The taller Yugi, or Yami, or whoever he was gave off an air of control, his voice was strong and sure of himself so when he told Ryou to come sit on the steps with him, Yugi joining on Ryou's other side, Ryou felt compelled to obey. There he was, sitting around on Yugi's steps with a Yugi on either side of him, both staring at him in disconcertment. Yugi was the first to shift, he raised his hand and felt Ryou's forehead. Really, he was not feverish… or maybe he was and that's the reason he saw double. "You don't remember Bakura," said Yugi.

Yami added, "And he does not recall me."

"But," said Yugi, "he does remember me."

"I think this requires some inspection," Yami said to Yugi before turning towards Ryou and addressing him. "I'm going to go inside your soul room and see what I can-"

"You're _what_?" Said Ryou. "You are _not_. I have no idea what you two are talking about," Ryou held a hand over his heart, "but if you think for one second I'm letting any stranger into my soul or soul room or whatever personal thing you think your going to do to me, you can forget it." He had no idea what it was but seemed like some sort of privacy invasion. Soul tinkering indeed, what was next, he'd sprout angel wings and fly away? Ha.

"But Ryou," said Yugi worriedly, "really, it's the only thing I can think of. How can you not remember your own yami?" Ryou's eyes darted to the taller Yugi. As if reading his thoughts Yugi huffed, "No, no. You don't have an extra one of him. He's mine." Was that a hint of possessiveness in Yugi's voice? It couldn't have been, and yet it was. Ryou looked at Yami again. Were they pets? And when Ryou asked Yugi and he smiled thoughtfully it was Yami who answered crossing his arms indignantly with a forceful huff of a no.

So Ryou was just as clueless, more so really, then he was when he had sought Yugi out initially. "So, whose this Bakura?" But Ryou could already guess. Who else but the alluring look-alike from earlier, wrapped in a towel and smiling at Ryou. But _who_ was he? Ryou couldn't have said for the life of him.

"You _really_ don't know?" said Yugi as Yami asked, "How long have you not remembered him? How did he deal with it?" There was concern in his voice, sympathy, but how could Ryou answer that.

"I've never met him before. Well, before the shower that is." Ryou continued on, completely unaware to how scandalous that sounded. "Oh! Could one of you go and get rid of him for me." Both Yugi and Yami froze at his words. "What?" Ryou asked, feeling some invisible tension.

"Get… rid of… him?" Yugi repeated slowly, as if it was a truly terrible thought. But it wasn't, it was some stranger or clone or future pet thing. Stranger seemed most logical, though still not sensible.

"What happened in the shower, Ryou?" Anger from Yami's point. He was scary mad because it wasn't blunt anger, rather the sort that just sat under the surface like a volcano waiting to erupt without warning.

"I- nothing. He was in my bathroom and went to get dressed and Yugi, where did that door come from? And I called you and then-"

"Freaked out and came to us." Finished Yugi.

"To _you_." Amended Ryou.

"Then Bakura doesn't know you've lost your memory?" Yugi was tempted to go inside and give Bakura a call but then he thought- it would just end badly.

"I _haven't,_" said Ryou. "I can remember yesterday, and the week before that, and the month before that, and so forth. What I can't remember is _him,_" Ryou pointed at Yami. "And that person in my house."

"That _person_," countered Yami seriously, "is your yami." Ryou blinked. "He's everything your not, he's your other half. He is _not _a clone or an alien, or a _pet_. You may not remember him, but he remembers _you_ and is probably worried about your odd departure. Is any of this making sense? Something is wrong with you. You have lost bits of valuable information and I need to see what has gone wrong. Let me into your soul room."

"No!" said Ryou, not really following but understanding that this other stranger was again asking about that soul thing.

"Ryou let Yami in. He can help you."

"No," repeated Ryou, not liking the turn in conversation. "I don't want to."

"But I have to," said Yami and suddenly Ryou felt something odd. It was not wrongness exactly, more like an offness within him. Ryou pushed back against that feeling with all his might and stared at both Yugi and Yami in trepidation before bolting down the street.

Okay, one house with one stranger, or yami, or whatever; another with another yami. Nowhere to really go but away. Or he could… go back home and confront his taller double. He could… but that other person… What kind of conversation would they have? What would he be like? Ryou was scared. Who was he? Why was he in Ryou's house? Ryou couldn't remember him.

_Are you okay?_ Ryou thought to himself. Well, of course he wasn't. Life was playing some sort of trick on him. _You left in such a rush,_ Ryou thought again. Well, but of course he did, anybody would have. Why was he even thinking about it? _Did I upset you somehow? …You seemed distant. _ Ah pooey. Now Ryou was going insane, why else would he be thinking to himself? He tried to clear his thoughts. He was sane, really he was. _Please don't ignore me, my hikari. _ Now Ryou didn't know what to think. Hikari wasn't even in his vocabulary, and how can one ignore oneself? _Ryou?_

_Who is this? _Ryou thought forcibly, feeling somewhat annoyed. He had answered back, he really was insane. There was a moment of silence; maybe the voice was gone. But no, there it was again.

_How can you be that mad at me? Why are you ignoring me? _Ryou wasn't ignoring anybody, least of all himself. _Where did you rush off to? _Without knowing how or why he knew that the thought was sent with concern.

_None of your, or my, or whoever's business, _thought Ryou snappily. He had to get away. But how do you get away from yourself? Ryou walked faster for one. _Don't talk to me anymore. _Why was he going crazy?

Now there was a tinge of urgency in the thoughts that answered. _What's wrong? You're so distant. What happened? Are you okay?_

Ryou didn't answer, wouldn't answer. Maybe one of his other friends would know what's going on. Maybe they all had yami's too. Then something weird happened. The Sennen Ring his father had sent him; that he wore out of habit, glowed. Ryou lifted it from under his shirt and watched in fascination as one of the points levitated and pointed in a direction. Awed and amazed Ryou looked up and was startled beyond belief. There was that person! Bakura? It had to be him. The 'yami'.

Bakura saw Ryou looking at him and waved. _I found you, hikari,_ Ryou thought relieved. Or Bakura, or whatever. Either way Ryou nearly choked on his saliva. It was him! In his house, in his shower, and now in his mind! Ryou didn't have to think about it, he turned around and _ran_.

He ran straight then turned down a block, then ran across a busy street and turned down a random street. He had no destination, just the thought that you should run when someone follows you. The other guy was chasing not far behind him. He turned down another avenue and ran across a busy road which was oddly not busy when a car turned onto the street and turned into Ryou so fast he had no time to react and all Ryou could think was: rotten luck.

He wasn't hit; he was manhandled. A body pressed up against him, warm and frantic and then Ryou felt his skin smear into the road but he didn't feel 10,000 pounds of steel.

_What the hell were you thinking! Panic; fear._

"What the hell were you thinking!" _Anger; hurt._

Ryou tried to make sense of that through the pain. His flesh was scraped or cut anywhere that hit the road, but he was alive. And then realized that white hair and a face was all he could see. The face was angry, not scary angry, but fear angry. _Hey! Stay out of my head._ It really was the only thing Ryou could say, because he certainly couldn't use words. The other boy was beautiful and Ryou couldn't help but lift a hand to touch his cheek. Warm. Bakura blinked, and lifted himself from Ryou, then pulled Ryou up without his consent and _lifted_ him into his arms. Ryou snapped awake and struggled as soon as they were on sidewalk and not road.

Bakura put him down, gently, and pulled him onto someone's lawn. "We need to talk."

Ryou didn't want to talk; he wanted to hide in his room. "Th- thanks for saving me," he mustered. But Bakura pulled him down so they were sitting, if he didn't ache so much Ryou would have contemplated running again.

"Why did you run from me?" Bakura was perfectly serious and anger, maybe even hurt, hid beneath the surface of those forceful words. The wrong thing said and Ryou had no doubt this person would yell at him. So honesty- he had no choice.

"You scared me," Ryou said, perfectly aware that he had just scared the other boy. "I didn't know what to do or say. I still don't. I don't know who you are." Ryou waited for a reaction. There had to be something, but Bakura's eyebrows just furrowed slightly. He didn't get it.

"What did I do to scare you?"

"I went to Yugi's house." Ryou continued before he lost his nerve, "He said Yami was… well that I knew Yami. But I didn't. I don't. And you, who are you? How do you know me? Why were you in my house?" The words spilled forth without control. "How could you be in my head? How did you find me? Why did the Ring light up like that? I really don't know."

"This isn't funny, Ryou," said Bakura, disbelief across his face. "Bakura reached out a hand to caress Ryou's face but Ryou jerked away. "Not funny," he repeated and suddenly Bakura was latched onto him. His body holding Ryou's so tight that he had no choice but to push the boy back.

"What am I to you? You saved my life, you live with me, and you don't seem to think there _are_ any boundaries between us. But to me you're a stranger and it's uncomfortable." Bakura seemed to freeze. His eyes searched Ryou's with such fierceness that Ryou knew he was struggling to believe what Ryou said. "It's true." And Bakura seemed to deflate. Ryou would have patted him on the back but the gesture seemed hollow, perhaps even unwelcome.

Instead he reached down and touched Bakura on the shoulder. "Let's go back to my- our house." It was a morose journey spent in silence. Every now and then when Bakura was not seeing the sidewalk that he seemed to pay so much attention to he'd look up and glance at Ryou.

Ryou was still trying to piece everything together. He couldn't very well toss the other boy out. He was really grateful for him saving Ryou's life. And… and that look Bakura kept giving him was shaking him to the core. Something inside of him just couldn't stand to see that expression on Bakura's face.

They reached the house and Bakura opened the door for Ryou who gave him a small smile in hopes of lifting the others spirit just a little. It didn't really work. The door closed behind them and the awkwardness began. Neither spoke to the other, they just stood there and watched each other. It was Bakura who finally spoke; his so far normally gentle tone had turned into despair though it was obvious he was trying to hide that. "Should I introduce myself then?"

Oh! That was one thing at least Ryou knew. He smiled up at Bakura and shook his head. "I know your name. It's Bakura." And Bakura's face visibly lifted.

"Then… that's great. I thought…I thought, you made it sound a lot worse. But if you remember me-!"

"It came up in conversation at Yugi's, actually." And to Ryou it seemed as if he had just done the most terrible thing imaginable. Raised Bakura's hopes then sent them crashing down into oblivion. For without knowing why, he could see he had just broken Bakura's heart because it was visibly shattering.

Bakura pulled Ryou close to him and Ryou let the other do it, it really was the least he could do after being so cruel. And then Ryou felt that oddness again but it was different this time. Not quite a wrongness, familiar in a way but too different to be the same. Ryou didn't push back; it had to be Bakura but then Bakura jerked away from him. His stare boring into Ryou's eyes. "You have no memory of me at all? Not of anything? How could you forget me?" But Ryou had no answer. Then Bakura's gaze became fiercer.

"How could you have forgotten me?"

"I- I-" It was _too _fierce. Bakura's sorrow was turning into rage.

"How little did I mean to you?"

"I- I don't understand what you'r-"

"I'll make you understand. I won't lose you. I won't."

Before Ryou could decipher that cryptic warning he found that Bakura had already attached his mouth to Ryou's in a gentle but fierce kiss. Bakura's body held Ryou in place, warm, embracing; kiss, sweet. But Ryou jerked away. This wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. Bakura picked Ryou up and dropped him on the couch, Ryou tried to get up but Bakura was on top of him. His mouth was kissing down Ryou's neck in such a way that he could not resist but shiver. Bakura's hands were lightly dancing over Ryou's flesh as his shirt was lifted just a little to allow Bakura better access.

Ryou lost himself for a moment but then Bakura lifted his shirt over his head and Ryou could feel the cool air. Panic started to rise inside of him, sensing this Bakura covered Ryou's mouth with his own. This kiss was shocking in its fierceness and before coherent thought could form Ryou found himself moaning into that kiss. Bakura's hands found themselves lightly caressing Ryou's nipples. It was so feather light that the tease left him aching. Bakura smiled into his kisses as Ryou attempted to push his body closer to the other boy but it just wasn't close enough. One of those hands trailed down Ryou's stomach and slipped into his pants.

Gentle and demanding, it grasped him. Ryou found he couldn't control his body and thrust to get closer. He thrust again and Bakura smiled as his mouth went to Ryou's hard red nipples and bit and sucked and teased as his hand stayed busy and Ryou couldn't help but get lost in it all because it was so much and felt so good and was so wrong that he started to cry. Soft tears, silent tears, tears meant for both of them. And when Bakura looked up to see Ryou's pleasured face had turned to despair he halted immediately. Bakura was openly confused; he looked so lost that a tear streamed down Ryou's cheek just for him.

The other boy that looked so much like him but that Ryou didn't know reached out a hand and wiped away Ryou's tears, he got up, looked at Ryou and hastily bounded from the room a look of pure panic staining his expression. Ryou laid there, the urge to cry not fading away. Why did Bakura do that? Why did he just leave without even a word, leaving Ryou as he was? Ryou reached down to do up his pants but didn't want to touch anywhere down there so instead turned over and buried himself in the couch. It was only a few seconds later that Bakura gently rolled him to face one another.

"I am so sorry, Ryou." He said, kneeling on the floor as he wiped away the tears with something soft. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to scare you," Ryou didn't respond just curled back into the couch. "I just wanted, needed, you to remember me. But how could you when I don't exist to you? How could you when I'm the only one that knows?" Bakura turned Ryou back over; he didn't hide away but didn't look at Bakura.

"Even if _you_ didn't remember me, your body would. I needed to be sure, for you to be… that I existed for you." Bakura cleaned him and did his pants up but still Ryou did not respond. "Your body remembers me so well; when I went into your soul I felt such a strong denial of me. A stranger. You said I was a stranger. You wanted me gone, you wanted nothing to do with me, it was all there and it hurt so much, so unbelievably much that I just… I didn't want to lose you. You made me need you, Ryou. And now you don't need me and I'm so lost."

Ryou shifted, this time, towards Bakura who sounded so hollow and misplaced and incomplete. His expression twisted Ryou's heart, he hadn't noticed this until just now but the other boy was crying too. Tears flowed so fast down his cheeks; too much sorrow. "And now I have lost you." Ryou could tell he wanted to grab Ryou into his arms, as he had done throughout the day. No doubt it was Bakura's reassurance that Ryou was right there. So Ryou lifted a hand to the broken yami and gently traced a thumb over Bakura's cheek. Something inside of him could not sit and watch idly as this person broke.

He wiped a tear and with it a fear. He sat up and lifted his other hand and gently wiped the cascading tears away. He forced Bakura to look at him. "What you did was unfair. It was unpredictable and hurtful and made me feel so wrong that I cannot begin to explain it." It had to be said, each word a dagger through the person wilting in Ryou's hands. "But my body remembers so I have to believe that you knew me. I already know that you love me. But if you ever do that again you will not live to see another day." Now Bakura was utterly confused. "I may not know you, but you know me. And I used to know you. I can't stand to see you so sad and miserable, I can't stand to see you in such pain. I don't know why but I can't stand to see you suffer"

"Ryou, I'm so sorry."

"And so am I, Bakura. I really am." Ryou _had_ to breach that gap between them. His own heart would burst if he did not. Bakura, that name slid from his tongue so easily, yet he had rarely ever said it. Bakura, the gorgeous boy who had emerged from his bathroom that morning. Bakura, the boy who Ryou had broken so easily without knowing he was doing it. Bakura, the boy who Ryou tenderly brought forward and kissed ever so softly on the lips. Compared to all that Bakura had done it may have seemed like a childish kiss; to Bakura it was the embodiment of bliss.

The sweetest thing to ever touch his lips.

Ryou pulled away and hesitantly, ever so lightly, wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and rested his head on Bakura's shoulder. His body still ached in that weird sort of way and his mind was still a jumble, and though he had feared this guy and though he was afraid for this guy Ryou had decided one thing: he liked this guy. He was too endearing for words. The day Ryou got him to truly smile would be the day Ryou's heart opened up… again? Ryou hugged a little tighter, utterly content to let Bakura cautiously hold onto him.

His life, Ryou guessed, had just become a roller coaster of events, feelings and people. But maybe Ryou could live it down, if, at the end of the day, he had Bakura to hold him.

Nostalgia (noss-**tal**-ja)  
Sentimental memory of or longing for things of the past.

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"What did you see, Yami?" For it was apparent that Yami had glimpsed _something_ inside of Ryou. Since his lost friend had departed Yugi's yami had grown contemplative, withdrawn. He had seen something, deduced some fact even though the amount of time he had to investigate was so small.

Yami opened his arms in a silent invite so Yugi accepted and curled onto his Yami. "It- I don't know why. It has to do with Bakura, if he ever found out I think it would crush him." Yugi squeezed his hand, urging him foreword while giving him comfort in the present. "Bakura, like myself, is an ancient spirit with many secrets; quite a few that even we don't know. As such those secrets are guarded, sometimes by our consciousness and sometimes not. To wander our soulrooms without us there or even without our knowing is so dangerous because those traps will be active."

Yugi was piecing together the mystery even as Yami spoke. It _would_ crush Bakura. "Ryou went into Bakura's soulmaze, where his identity and secrets lye. I have no idea why, that information was lost along with any memories of the Sennen Items, with the knowledge of the existence of yami's. With the memories he shared with Bakura. Whatever room Ryou had wandered into, it had obliterated what it should never have touched."

"Why does Bakura have such a trap?" Yugi managed to solidify his thoughts into words.

"That's just it. The trap was ingenious by itself. Anyone who managed to get past Bakura's defences would be dangerous for the tomb-robber. With one well-placed trap he ensures that they not only don't remember that there was a spirit of the Sennen Ring but that the Ring even existed. Than any of the items even existed. Such a dangerous threat is instantly nullified."

There was no need to say anymore. Yugi could hear the plea in Yami's voice, and Yugi agreed. The soulmaze was no place for a hikari and he would never venture there. But Ryou and Bakura, that was a tragedy that couldn't be undone. But perhaps Bakura could make Ryou fall in love again; perhaps time will mend the rift? Maybe it was not all lost but buried so far down that Ryou knew in his heart, where and who he belonged with. But then, maybe too, Ryou would never regain his memory of the first time Bakura emerged from the Ring, or the trials they had shared together. Never know what Bakura had done for him or the so many times he had blushed when his yami had come into the room. But Bakura would, and alone he'd remember the ghosts of the past while striving to ensure it was not lost entirely.

Bakura would have to love again when he had never stopped loving in the first place. A lonely love to endure but one that Yugi had no doubt he'd succeed with because their love had been so strong.

Nostalgia (noss-**tal**-ja)  
Sentimental memory of or longing for things of the past


End file.
